Ex-knick Clears The Air

MIAMI — New Heat acquisition Shandon Anderson wants to make one thing clear -- and then hopes the issue can be put aside.

He never fell out of favor with the Knicks, just with Knicks President Isiah Thomas.

"I've been in the league, this is my ninth year, when have you heard my name pop up in any controversy?" he asked before Sunday's game against the Bucks. "I tell people I played for 71/2 years straight without missing a game. I missed maybe four or five practices. That doesn't come from anybody being unprofessional.

"Then all of a sudden I'm unprofessional, I have a problem?"

With Thomas having purged practically every hire made during Scott Layden's stewardship of the Knicks, Anderson got caught in the crossfire. So his streak of 543 consecutive appearances ended in January, shortly after Thomas' arrival.

Then the playing time dwindled. And when Anderson was a no-show for his season-ending interview, Thomas made it clear that the 6-foot-6 swingman had no future in New York.

"It was just a situation where there was no upside for me," he said.

The Knicks bought out the final three years of his contract, and within 24 hours of clearing waivers, the 30-year-old was in Miami.

"This is all about trying to jump start my career again," he said.

ROSTER MOVES

To open a spot on the active roster for Anderson, the Heat shifted power forward Christian Laettner to the injured list and waived rookie forward Matt Freije.

Freije, second-round pick out of Vanderbilt, is a casualty in the Heat's win-now approach.

"Our decision was based more on the immediacy," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We're not a team that's building for three or four years down the road."

That was among the reasons Laettner was shifted to the injured list. The veteran power forward was the only active player yet to see action, after developing back spasms in training camp. The move was made in consultation with trainer Ron Culp.

"Ron had actually brought it up to us," Van Gundy said, "that if we could give him a week, where he's got more time on his hands, can get more treatment and more workouts and get up to speed, it could help him."

WADE WAITS

Van Gundy did not sound overly optimistic about Dwyane Wade returning from his sprained left ankle during the trip to Minnesota and Milwaukee. Wade was out of his walking boot Sunday, and Van Gundy said there was no thought of placing the point guard on the injured list, which would have mandated a five-game absence.

"Regardless of even Tuesday or Wednesday, where maybe we would even hope, I think we all think that Friday [a home game against Utah] at least looks pretty good," Van Gundy said.

"There was no reason for us to have Dwyane on the injured list for even one game longer than he had to be there."